An analysis of all the components used inside the Galaxy S20 Ultra by TechInsights labs has provided an estimated production cost of the device. After analyzing all the components used inside the Snapdragon 865-powered Galaxy S20 Ultra, it estimated that it costs Samsung $528.50 to make the device. The device has a retail price of $1,399 in the United States before sales tax.
Of all the components used inside the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the array of cameras that Samsung is using on the device is the most expensive of the lot at $107.50. This includes the 108MP primary rear camera, a 40MP selfie camera, a ToF camera, and more. Samsung also includes a 48MP periscope optical zoom camera system on the Galaxy S20 Ultra which further increases the price as well as the complexity of the setup. The Snapdragon 865 platform is the second most expensive component and has reportedly cost Samsung $81 apiece. The massive 6.9-inch QHD+ 120Hz OLED touchscreen of the Galaxy S20 Ultra comes in third and is estimated to have cost $67.
Do note that the $528.50 amount is only the cost to produce a single Galaxy S20 Ultra unit. It does not take into account the billions of dollars that Samsung has spent on R&D over the last few years for the device. It also does not include the money spent on marketing, machinery, packaging, and more. These are also important aspects and companies must account for these expenses when deciding the final retail price of their devices.
Samsung is also selling a 4G variant of the Galaxy S20 Ultra in selected markets with its in-house Exynos 990 chip. The total cost to produce the Exynos-powered variant of the device should be slightly lower than its Snapdragon counterpart due to the lack of 5G.
Source: TechInsights
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